(The following appeared on the Progressive Railroading website on August 11.)
Better weather in the Powder River Basin (PRB) meant better coal traffic figures for BNSF Railway Co. in July.
Daily loadings averaged 50.3 trains, up nearly 9 percent from June’s average of 46.2 trains and 2.7 percent from July 2007’s average of 49 trains. In June, stormy weather in the PRB and Mississippi River flooding disturbed the flow of loaded and empty coal trains moving into and out of the basin.
Despite the one-month blip, BNSF’s PRB coal loadings through July remained ahead of last year’s pace. Daily loadings averaged 50.2 trains, up about 2 percent compared with a 49.2-train average through 2007’s first seven months. Volume totaled 155.9 million tons, a more than 2 percent year-over-year increase.